Revealed: How the former home of the Broncos can become the Lions’ den

The Brisbane Lions’ search for a temporary home while the Gabba gets rebuilt might be over, with detailed designs commissioned by the state government for an AFL field to be laid over the Broncos’ former home ground.

Stadiums Queensland documents obtained by Brisbane Times through Right to Information legislation show plans for a modified 34,846-seat stadium for the Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre, about 8½ kilometres south-east of the Gabba.

The then-called QEII Stadium was built for the 1982 Commonwealth Games, and was named ANZ Stadium when the Brisbane Broncos moved in for 10 years, setting a record crowd of 58,912 for the 1997 Super League grand final between the Broncos and the Cronulla Sharks in the process.

It also hosted media magnate Ted Turner’s ill-fated Goodwill Games in 2001 and, just this month, was the venue for the Australian Junior Track and Field Championships.

The Lions have been based at the Gabba since 1993, when the pre-merger Brisbane Bears moved from Carrara Stadium on the Gold Coast. They will need to find a temporary home when the venue gets rebuilt ahead of the 2032 Olympic Games — a $2.7 billion project that will be the main athletics stadium.

Detailed plans have been drawn up, but no final decision on the Lions’ temporary home ground has been made.

Other options reportedly being considered were the RNA Showgrounds at Bowen Hills (although Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has cast doubt on that option) and the newly renamed Heritage Bank Stadium on the Gold Coast, the Bears’ former ground and now the home base of the Suns.

Under the QSAC proposal, the current 48,500 capacity would be cut by removing temporary stands at the southern end, and the installation of 19,815 repurposed seats from the Gabba over existing aluminum benches.

The Gabba’s two video screens would be moved to QSAC’s northern and southern ends, and new food and beverage options would be introduced. The capacity would include 1664 corporate box seats.

The running track would be removed, temporarily forcing athletics to the adjacent secondary stadium, and some seats on the eastern grandstand would need to be removed to accommodate the AFL field.

Even then, QSAC’s Australian Rules football configuration would be one of the narrowest in the AFL, at just 165 metres long and 115 metres wide, compared with the Gabba’s existing 156 x 138-metre dimensions. It would be most comparable to Geelong’s Kardinia Park (170 x 115 metres).

QSAC is Australia’s largest stadium without a regular professional tenant. Aside from the western stand, the stadium was only ever meant to be temporary when it was built for the Commonwealth Games.

Apart from a decade-long spell as the Broncos’ home ground between 1993 and 2003, the stadium structure itself has been mostly unused, with most athletics events only requiring the permanent western stand to be open.

Otherwise, save for the occasional concert and monster truck rally, the stadium has largely gathered dust since the Broncos’ departure.

All the while, the temporary stands’ upkeep was costing taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Figures released in the same RTI application showed $94,697.46 was spent on stadium maintenance in 2021-22, up from $79,575.84 the previous financial year and $12,519.94 in 2019-20.

But the potential Lions tenancy would finally see that money put to good use, with regular patrons attracted to the stadium for the first time in more than two decades.

One downside, however, would be public transport links. AC/DC and Guns N’ Roses concerts at the venue in recent years have been beset by complaints from patrons, forced to line up sometimes for hours as buses ferried fans out of the car park.

QSAC has sat mostly empty since 2003, when it was still called ANZ Stadium.Credit: Google Earth

The nearest train station, Banoon, is a 3.1-kilometre walk away.

Comment has been sought from the Lions.

A spokesman for Sports Minister Stirling Hinchliffe said the government was working with the Lions on a “range of options”, but no decision had been made.

While the Lions could temporarily move into the Broncos’ old home, the Broncos will temporarily move into the Lions’ current home this year.

With Suncorp Stadium unavailable due to the FIFA Women’s World Cup, the Broncos’ home NRL matches against the Dolphins (July 1), Roosters (July 27) and Parramatta (August 11) will be played at the Gabba.